(1976) The R Document (33 page)

First, his letter of resignation.

He walked over to the silver carafe next to the telephone console beside his desk, poured a glass of water, and drank it. He looked at the glass-fronted bookshelves of legal tomes on the wall facing him. He roamed about the huge office,

trying to compose his letter. Simple or majestic? Neither. Aggressive or defensive? Neither. At last, he struck the right note. He was tendering his resignation from the post of Attorney General for a compelling reason <5f conscience. After much soul-searching, he had decided that he could no longer go along with the Administration’s stand on the 35th Amendment. He felt that he could better serve his conscience, and his country, by resigning to devote his efforts, unhampered, to opposing passage of the 35th Amendment. The right note.

He hurried back to his desk, pulled out a sheet of his office stationery, and quickly committed to paper what he had composed in his head.

Then he decided that instead of sending the handwritten letter over to the White House, he would have it typed up and would sign it. Photocopies of a typescript letter would be easier for the news media to handle than copies of a handwritten one. Yes, he would have Marion type it, he would sign it, he would have photocopies made.

He reread his letter of resignation, then stood up, seeking means of improving it. He wandered about his office once more, and finally he wandered into the vast conference room next door. Moving across the patterned red carpet, he paused before a painting of Alphonso Taft, Attorney General under President Ulysses S. Grant. He wondered why in the devil that was here, reminded himself to have it removed tomorrow, then remembered that he himself would be removed tomorrow. He continued around the room, past the long conference table surrounded by its sixteen red leather chairs. Before the middle of the opposite wall, he halted, facing the white marble bust of Oliver Wendell Holmes.

It was at the marble bust that his secretary, Marion, caught up with him.

‘Mr Collins,’ she said breathlessly, ‘Director Tynan is here to see you.’

‘Tynan?’ he said. ‘Here?’

‘He’s in the reception room right now.’

Collins was confounded. This was utterly unexpected. Not once during Collins’ short tenure of office had Tynan

personally come calling at the Department of Justice. ‘Well, tell them to send him in.’

He speculated on what this was all about. One thing for sure: Tynan was the last person he wanted to see today. He awaited the Director’s presence with distaste.

Presently, he saw Vernon T. Tynan’s great bulk loom in the doorway to the conference room. Tynan, muscular beneath his tight double-breasted navy suit, came striding toward him. The crabbed features of his face held their permanent scowl, revealing nothing of his mission.

When he reached Collins, he said, ‘Sorry to break in on you like this, but I’m afraid it’s important.’ He patted the briefcase under his arm. ‘Something I have to discuss with you now.’

‘All right,’ said Collins. ‘Let’s go into my office.’ Tynan did not budge. ‘I think not,’ he said evenly. He glanced about the conference room. ‘I think it might be better here.’ Then he added, ‘I wouldn’t want anyone to overhear what we’ve got to discuss. I don’t think you would, either.’

Collins understood. ‘Vernon, I don’t have my. office hooked up. I don’t believe in taping my visitors.’

Tynan merely grunted. ‘You miss a lot, then.’ He threw his briefcase on the conference table before the chair next to the head of the table. ‘Let’s sit down. What I have to say won’t take long.’

Annoyed, Collins took the red leather chair at the head of the table and sat a few feet from the FBI Director. Waiting, Collins found his package of cigarettes, offered Tynan one, was refused, took one for himself, and put his lighter to it. After a puff or two, he drew a glass ashtray closer and said, ‘Well, to what do I owe the honor of this visit?’

Tynan placed his hands flat on the table. ‘Let’s get right down to it,’ he said. ‘I heard from the President a little while ago. I heard you’d just been in to see him. I heard that you intended to resign from office - and I heard the

reasons why.’

‘If you know the reasons why, I guess I don’t have to

go into them.’ Tynan arched back in his chair, looked Collins up and

down, then shook his head. ‘That was dumb of you,’ he said with a crooked smile. ‘Trying to get Vernon T. Tynan fired was a very dumb thing to do. I figured you for being smarter than that.’

Collins tried to control himself. ‘I did what I had to do.’

‘Did you, now? Well. So did I.’

With maddening deliberation, Tynan began to unlock and open his briefcase.

‘Yes, so did I,’ he repeated mockingly. ‘And since you’ve been looking into my affairs - and you have -‘

‘I certainly have.’

‘ - I thought it only fair to take the time to look into your affairs.’

‘I’m perfectly aware of your recent activities,’ said Collins. ‘I knew you were investigating me again.’

Tynan glanced at him. ‘No kidding? You knew and didn’t do anything about it?’

‘There was no reason to do anything. I have nothing to hide.’

‘You’re sure of that?’ Tynan had been going through the contents of his briefcase, and now he removed a manila folder. ‘Well, anyway, I thought you’d be flattered to know we’ve looked into you with great care - with tender, loving care.’

‘I appreciate your interest,’ said Collins. ‘Now surprise me. What did you find?’

Tynan’s scowl deepened. ‘I’ll tell you what I found. I found something you’ve deliberately hidden from the public - or, possibly, something that’s been hidden from you.’ He opened the folder, briefly studied what was inside, then met Collins’ eyes. ‘You’re setting out to obstruct the one piece of legislation that can save this country from ruin. You’ve been poking into a lot of people’s lives, including my own. You haven’t bothered to see if your own house is in order. Well, before you present yourself to the public as Mr Clean, you’d better be sure your life - and the lives of those around you - is simon-pure.’

‘Meaning what?’

‘Meaning you happen to be married to a woman with a

very suspect recent past. I think it might serve us well to discuss your wife’s past.’

Collins felt a flare of anger at this man who took it upon himself to pry into the personal lives of others. His anger overcame his immediate curiosity about what Tynan had up his sleeve. ‘Vernon,’ he said, ‘I don’t know what the hell you are implying, but I’m telling you right now I don’t intend to discuss my wife or any other member of my family with you. The Senate held hearings on me. My life is a matter of public record. The Senate confirmed me. There is nothing else to discuss.’

Tynan would not be put off. T’m afraid there is something more to discuss. I think you’ll want to talk about it. A little matter that was overlooked in our first investigation of you, a matter you’ll very much want to know about.’ ‘I won’t have my wife dragged into our differences.’ Tynan heaved his shoulders. ‘Up to you, Chris. Either you listen to me and tell me what to do. Or your wife will have to tell it to a judge and jury again.’ He paused. ‘Now, can I go on?’

Collins could feel his heart thump. This time, he remained silent.

Tynan glanced at his papers once more and resumed speaking. ‘Your wife was a widow when you met her. That was a little more than a year ago. Her name was Karen Grant. Her husband’s name was Thomas Grant. Is that right?’

‘That’s right. You know it’s right, so why -‘ ‘It’s wrong, and I know it’s wrong. Her maiden name was Karen Grant. Her husband’s name was Thomas Rowley. Her married name was Karen Rowley.’

Collins had not known that, but he was quick to defend her. ‘So what? There’s nothing unusual about a widow using her maiden name.’

‘Maybe not,’ said Tynan. ‘Or maybe there is. Let me see … you met her in Los Angeles, where she was working as a model. Before that, she lived with her husband in -in-‘

‘Madison, Wisconsin.’

‘She told vou that? She misinformed you. She lived

with her husband in Fort Worth, Texas. Her husband died in Fort Worth.’

Collins pushed back his chair as if to rise and terminate this inquisition. ‘Vernon, I don’t give a damn.’

‘You’d better,’ said Tynan coldly. ‘Do you know how your wife became a widow?’ ‘For God’s sake, her husband was killed in an accident.’ ‘An accident? Really? What kind of accident?’ ‘I’ve never questioned her about it. The subject isn’t exactly a pleasant one to revive.’ Then he added, I believe he was hit by a car. Does that satisfy you, Vernon?’

‘No, it does not satisfy me. According to the FBI records from Fort Worth, he was not hit by a car. He was hit by a bullet - at close range. He was murdered.’

Prepared as Collins was for some disturbing information, this was an unexpected blow. His poise dissolved.

Tynan continued relentlessly. ‘All evidence pointed to your wife as the murderer. She was arrested and tried. After four days of deliberation, she got a hung jury. Possibly because of her father’s influence - he was a political bigwig in the area - he’s dead now - the authorities decided not to initiate a second trial. She was released.’

‘I don’t believe it,’ Collins protested. Tynan and the conference room came into and out of focus, and Coffins tried to regain his composure.

‘If you have any doubts,’ said Tynan coolly, ‘this will resolve them.’ He lifted some papers from his manila file folder and placed them neatly in front of Collins. ‘A summary of the case, condensed from court records, identified with the appropriate case number. And photostats of three newspaper clippings. You will recognize Karen Rowley in

them. Now we get to the crux of the matter___*

Collins ignored the papers in front of him, and held on his adversary and the crux of the matter.

Tynan went on. ‘The jury did not find your wife guilty. On the other hand, they did not find her innocent. They did not acquit. They disagreed for four days, could not resolve their differences and reach a verdict. They reported a hung jury. As you know better than I, that leaves the case wide open and casts a shadow of doubt on your wife’s behavior.

This is the part that interested me. I suggested to our agents that they pursue their investigations further. They did. They reconstructed the murder, interrogated the witnesses again, and in the course of their inquiries came up with a new lead. It has proved to be quite valuable. How the local authorities could have overlooked it, I can’t imagine. But sometimes they can be slipshod. As you know, the FBI is never slipshod.’ Collins did not respond. He waited. ‘We have a new witness, one previously overlooked, a woman who claims to have seen Karen Rowley - or Karen Grant or Karen Collins, whichever you prefer - an eyewitness who claims to have heard an altercation, heard Karen tell Rowley she’d like to kill him. The witness decided to leave the Rowleys’ house, and as she did so, she had a glimpse of Karen with the weapon in her hand, standing over her husband’s body.’ Tynan paused. ‘Actually, there’s more.’ His voice dropped. ‘I hate to get into it. But of necessity, it would come out if the witness took the stand.

It’s pretty dirty stuff___’

Collins felt the constriction in bis chest. He continued to remain silent.

Tynan resumed, picking his words slowly. ‘Many weekends, your wife used to go visit her father alone. Or say she did. Rowley, her husband, finally became suspicious. He had her followed. He learned - well, how should I put it? -he learned Karen was an active participant in a sex group in Houston. They got together, undressed, indulged in nude sex orgies. And she took part - sometimes with assorted men, sometimes with women, straight sex, perversions … I won’t go into details, but -‘

‘That’s a filthy lie, and you know it!’ shouted Collins, half out of his chair.

Tynan sat unruffled. ‘I wish it was, but it isn’t. Our witness overheard Rowley accuse Karen of all that.’ His hand moved to the folder. ‘Would you like to see the testimony that the witness gave us in private?’ ‘No, thanks.’

‘Anyway, after that scene, the witness heard the gunshot and had the glimpse of Karen standing over Rowley’s

body.’ Tynan studied Collins briefly, then spoke again. ‘Now, this witness won’t come forward of her own free will. She doesn’t want to be involved in such a messy affair. But if forced to testify under oath, she will do so. It would mean a second trial. This time it is unlikely there would be a hung jury. However, it will please you to know, I did not permit my people to submit their new evidence to the District Attorney in Fort Worth. I thought that would be improper without consulting you first. Furthermore, despite her - her own weaknesses - God knows what led her to behave as she did - I have a certain amount of sympathy for Mrs Collins. In a different way, her husband was an even more unsavory character. He was after her money - her father’s money -and he used her. He probably threatened to expose her sexual misconduct to get more money out of her. Some might say she had considerable provocation to act as she did. Certainly that was a consideration in my mind when I ordered the evidence withheld. Finally, perhaps most important, I would prefer not to embarrass a member of the Administration, of the President’s team, at a crucial time like this. I think you can understand that. I think everyone connected with the case has suffered enough, and there is no need to make it a public matter again. Under the proper circumstances, it could all be easily forgotten.’

Collins was sickened - not only by the information about Karen and the threat to her, but by Tynan’s undisguised blackmail. The revulsion he felt toward the man burned inside him. Until now, he had never felt capable of killing another human being. This moment, he wanted to get his hands around Tynan’s neck. But he held on to his sanity.

He sat very still, trembling only inside.

At last, he was able to speak. ‘You’re willing to forget it, you say, under the proper circumstances?’

‘That’s right.’

‘What are the proper circumstances? What do you want from me?’

‘Only your cooperation, Chris,’ said Tynan blandly. ‘Very little, actually. Oh, let’s say what I’d want from you is your pledge that you’ll stay on the team with the President and myself and support the 35th Amendment to the very end.